The present invention relates to a sanitary cleaning apparatus for cleaning the private parts of a human body seated on a close stool with warm water.
A conventional sanitary cleaning apparatus will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sanitary cleaning apparatus installed, in which reference numeral 2 designates a seat mounted on a close stool 1, numeral 3 designates a sanitary cleaning apparatus proper, and numeral 4 designates a cistern for storing water for washing the interior of the stool 1.
FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a conventional sanitary cleaning apparatus, in which numeral 5 designates a nozzle for discharging the cleaning water against the parts to be cleaned of the human body seated on the seat 2, numeral 6 designates a water filter submerged in the water in the cistern 4, numeral 7 designates a water heater for storing and heating the cleaning water to the proper temperature, and numeral 8 designates a motor-driven pump for conveying water from the cistern 4 through the water filter 6 and supplying it to the water heater under pressure, and for discharging cleaning water derived from the warm water in the water heater 7 to the nozzle 5 under pressure. Numeral 9 designates a warm air outlet for blowing warm air for drying the parts wetted with the cleaning water, numeral 10 designates a wind tunnel, numeral 11 designates a fan for supplying air to the warm air outlet 9 through the wind tunnel 10, numeral 12 designates a motor for driving the fan 11, numeral 13 designates a heater for heating the air supplied from the fan to the proper temperature, numeral 14 designates a control section for controlling the water heater 7, pump 8, motor 12 and heater 13, and numeral 15 designates an operating section for the control section 14.
FIG. 3 is a front outside view of the operating section of a conventional apparatus, in which numeral 16 designates a cleaning adjustment knob for turning the cleaning water discharge means on and off and for setting the discharge pressure, and numeral 17 designates a drying temperature knob for turning the drying means on and off and switching the drying temperature.
In this configuration, when a user seated on the seat 2 is desirous of cleaning his private parts, he switches the cleaning adjusting knob 16 from "OFF" to the "ON" position. In compliance with an instruction from the control section 14, the pump 8 is started to wash the parts with the cleaning water discharged at a pressure set by a variable resistor controlled by the cleaning adjustment knob 16. When the user wants to dry the parts after washing, he returns the cleaning adjustment knob 16 to "OFF", and switches the drying temperature knob 17 from "OFF" to "LOW" or "HIGH". Then the motor 12 and the heater 13 are actuated by an instruction from the control section 14. Hot air is thus blown from the warm air outlet 9 toward the parts of the human body wetted with the cleaning water to dry them. The temperature of the warm air may be controlled by switching the drying temperature knob 17 between "LOW" and "HIGH". To finish the drying process, the user returns the drying temperature knob 17 to the "OFF" position.
In the cleaning processes of the conventional apparatus having this configuration, a user who wants to dry the parts is required to operate the drying temperature knob 17 after returning the cleaning adjusting knob 16 to "OFF". It is necessary to eliminate such complicated operations from a sanitary cleaning apparatus which is used by all family members, including children and the aged.
In another conventional apparatus, a set 18 of operating switches is separately provided for selecting the cleaning water discharge means and drying means as shown in FIG. 4. The cleaning adjustment knob 16 is fixed, and therefore upon operation of the set 18 of operating switch 18 switches by a second user, water at the pressure set by the first user is discharged from the nozzle 5 and applied to the parts of his body. This may be uncomfortable to the second user.